Leave No Man Behind
by TinkerBella7
Summary: Just a little angsty piece. The team love to pick on Marty Deeks. Sometimes it's a bit much and a bit mean. This time they went a bit too far.


"Where is Mr. Deeks?"

Kensi looked up to see Hetty standing beside Callen. Per usual, she hadn't heard the tiny woman approach. Of course, she and Callen and Sam had been laughing amongst themselves. About Deeks, actually. But Kensi schooled her expression and replied, "He should be here soon. He went on a food run."

Hetty expression was enigmatic. "I see. Without a vehicle? Because I do believe, Ms. Blye, that you were his ride."

"You snooze you lose," Sam interjected, smirking.

"Explain." Hetty's tone was soft, but her inflection was terse.

Sam shrugged. "Once we secured and locked down the area, Deeks was lagging behind."

Hetty nodded. "I see. Why was he lagging behind?"

"He didn't say. He just said he was taking one last circuit and he'd be there in a minute."

"And then?" Hetty prompted.

Callen took up the explanation. "We waited five minutes then told him he had one more minute and that he was on food detail whether he showed up or not. He didn't show and Kensi told him his ride was leaving."

Hetty stared at them all for a moment, until they were all fidgeting. "How did Mr. Deeks respond?"

"He didn't," Kensi replied, and thinking back on that made her pause. Deeks was never without a response.

"Perhaps he didn't hear you." Hetty tone became sharp. "I had Mr. Beale attempt to reach Mr. Deeks via his earwig only to discover it was down. So we called him on his cell. It took him a moment to respond. He was busy, bringing a suspect back here in a cab."

Kensi bolted to her feet, staring at Hetty in disbelief. "What? What suspect? What are you talking about?"

Arms folded across her chest, eyes cold, Hetty glared at the three team members. "Mr. Deeks never heard you say you were leaving him. His earwig died after telling you he was taking one last circuit. He found someone. Someone who attacked him, but he was able to take him down and bring him here. A Mr. Jenner. The suspect I sent you there looking for."

"Is Deeks all right?" It was Callen who asked.

"He says he is," Hetty allowed. "But he does look a bit worse for wear. Perhaps you could ask him before interrogating Mr. Jenner." With that Hetty turned on her heel and stalked away, anger vibrating through her tiny form.

Sam slammed a fist down on his desk. "Sonofabitch!"

Kensi echoed his sentiment even as she felt fear and guilt coil into a knot in her stomach. They had left Deeks on his own. She had left him. She had abandoned her partner.

"Kensi." Callen touched her arm, forcing her attention. "Let's go check on Deeks."

They were silent as they made their way to the boathouse. Kensi entered last, stopping in the doorway at the sight of Deeks, sitting at the table, head in hands. He looked exhausted.

Callen reached him first. "Deeks. You okay?"

"There was a storm cellar hidden in the back corner of the house," Deeks replied, lifting his head to reveal a bruised cheek and a gash at the corner of his left brow. "Jenner thought we'd gone but he heard me telling you I was making another circuit. Apparently he was hoping I'd leave but I saw footprints." Deeks paused, eyes finding Kensi. "Guess I learned something from watching you track." His voice was monotone, hollow. He dropped his eyes to the table. "Since I caught him, you guys can question him." Pushing back his chair, Deeks stood up and made to leave.

"Hold on, Deeks!" Sam stepped in to intercept him. "Man...we're sorry for leaving you. We didn't know."

Deeks didn't look at Sam as he stepped around him. "Right. No problem." He continued towards the door.

Kensi lifted one hand to stop him. "I'm so sorry, Deeks. I can't even tell you how sorry I am."

"Don't sweat it, Kensi." Deeks locked eyes with her, his blue eyes dark. "No harm done. Yeah?" He made to slip by her but she closed the door and leaned against it.

"We were wrong, Deeks." Kensi needed him to believe her. Needed his forgiveness, even though she didn't deserve it. Partners had each others backs at all times, but she had left Deeks without looking back. She would never forgive herself for that, so why should he?

Looking over her shoulder, Deeks pleaded, "Please move." When Kensi reached for him he pulled back abruptly, stumbling and trying to catch himself, one hand lifting to press against his temple. "Dammit!" Deeks hissed, turning away from them.

"Sit down." Sam was by his side, gripping Deeks by the arm and drawing him over to the closest chair. Not letting the Detective shake him off.

The moment he was sitting, Deeks dropped his head onto his folded arms, as if trying to shut them out.

Callen sat down beside him. "Take a minute then I'm going to take you to get checked out."

"I'm fine." Deeks's reply was muffled by his arms.

"No arguments on this one, Deeks," Callen countered, touching his arm, ignoring the way Deeks flinched. "Sam and Kensi will question Jenner and once we know you're okay, we're all going to talk about what happened.

Head snapping up, Deeks glared at Callen. "There's nothing to talk about. Mission accomplished. We got the bad guy. Case closed!" Deeks was back on his feet, chair skidding across the floor, body tense as he stalked over to the door. Kensi didn't try and stop him this time, she just moved aside, letting him fling open the door. But Deeks froze, stepping back, allowing Hetty to enter the room.

She studied them all, one by one, her gaze coming to rest on Deeks last. Eyes softening, Hetty announced, "I have a car waiting, Mr. Deeks. I will accompany you to the ER."

"I'm fine, Hetty. Really." Deeks tried to plaster a smile on his face, but he failed, miserably.

"Please go to the car, Mr. Deeks." Hetty's tone brooked no argument and a moment later Deeks nodded and slipped past her. Gone.

Kensi moved to Hetty. "I'd like to go with you."

Hetty sighed. "I doubt Mr. Deeks would appreciate your presence, Ms. Blye. Not right now, anyway." Shifting her gaze to Callen, then Sam, Hetty stated, "Be careful with Jenner. He's a large man. It's a good thing our Mr. Deeks is as skilled as he is. Although I'm sure it would have been easier to for him to take Jenner down if he'd had...back up. " With that, Hetty left the room, closing the door behind her.

"We messed up." Callen said what they were all thinking.

"Big time," Sam allowed, turning to look at the video screen. The image of Jenner in the interrogation room made him angry.

Kensi was staring at Jenner as well and she felt sickened as she realized just how big the man was. He made Sam look tiny. And Deeks had taken him on by himself. He never should have had to do that. They should have made sure he was all right. They never should have left him alone. "He'll never forgive us," she whispered.

Sam winced. "Maybe. Deeks doesn't really hold a grudge, tho."

"He should!" Callen snapped, making the others look at him in surprise. "Had it been any one of us," Callen gestured to the three of them, "This never would have happened. We look out for each other. That's what a team does. That's what partners do."

"I'm his partner," Kensi was quick to interject. To take the blame. "This is my fault. I'm the one who left him behind. I should have stayed. I should have looked for him. He's a part of this team, not some probie. Deeks has proven himself to this team...to me...time and again. I crossed the line." The worst part of it was that Kensi couldn't even come up with a reason for why she had let this happen.

Callen moved to Kensi, one hand gripping her shoulder. An offer of comfort. "We all crossed the line. We all failed him."

Kensi nodded, knowing it to be true, even though she placed the greater burden of guilt on her own shoulders. "So what do we do?"

"What Hetty told us to do." Callen pointed to Jenner. "We interrogate him and finish this case."

"What happens tomorrow? With Deeks?" Kensi had no clue how she was supposed to face him.

Sam shrugged. "We play it by ear." He walked to the door of the interrogation room, motioning for Callen to join him.

Kensi watched them go before sinking down into a chair. She buried her face in her hands and, for the first time in a long time, she prayed.

Kensi had spent the night trying to call Deeks. She had made herself stay on the line until his voice mail kicked in, feeling relieved and worried that he never picked up. Sleep had been elusive and come morning she was up early and had more than enough time for a six mile run, a workout at the gym, a long shower and a trip to the bakery.

The smell of the bagels she'd picked up made her vaguely nauseous, however, as she entered OPS. She had spent the night worried sick about Deeks and wanting to see him, but now she was terrified to face him. But she didn't get the chance to prepare herself because he was right there, sitting at his desk. Early as she was, she hadn't expected him to be here yet. It startled her to the point that she fumbled the bagel bag. Would have dropped it if Callen hadn't appeared to rescue it.

"Sorry," Kensi mumbled, as he took it from her hand.

"No harm, no foul," Callen replied, setting the bag on her half of the desk. But he was looking at Deeks as he spoke. "Morning," he offered.

Deeks looked up and replied, "Good Morning." He looked at Callen, glanced at Kensi, then dropped his eyes back to his paper work.

Kensi found herself moving forward, needing to apologize again. Needing to make things right between them. She cleared her throat, trying to find the right words. What finally came out was, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Deeks didn't look at her.

"I brought bagels," Kensi blurted out, not knowing what else to say. How the hell was she going to fix this?

Sam appeared just then, offering a quiet greeting to which only Deeks responded.

He looked up and offered the same "Good Morning," he'd said to Kensi and Callen, before focusing back on his laptop.

"Good to see everyone here on time," Hetty stated, gliding into the area like a ghost. "It would appear to be a quiet morning, no case at the moment, so I expect all paperwork on my desk by the end of day. If we do get a case, Mr. Deeks will remain in OPS. I've taken him off field duty for the remainder of the week."

"Why?" Kensi couldn't imagine why Hetty would be punishing Deeks. He wasn't the one who had messed up.

Hetty pinned Kensi with a cold stare. "Mr. Deeks has a mild concussion and bruised ribs."

Kensi hadn't expected that and it shook her. It was a reminder of the fact that Deeks had faced that Brute, Jenner, on his own. "Shouldn't he be home, resting?"

"He...is right here and can hear you," Deeks interjected, rising from his chair and facing Kensi. "And it's not your concern." Swiveling on his heel, Deeks strode past them, heading for the gym.

"Deeks!" Kensi was right on his heels. She had to make this right. Catching up to him, she grabbed his arm, and he froze at her touch. "We need to talk, Deeks. Please."

He tugged his arm free, eyes locking on hers. "What is there to talk about?"

Obviously he wasn't going to make this easy for her, and Kensi didn't blame him. "I never should have left you behind. I'm so sorry. I don't even have a good excuse."

"Don't worry about it, Kensi," Deeks replied, looking suddenly and unbearably sad. "I'm used to it."

"What does that mean?" Kensi found herself wanting to hug Deeks. To comfort him. To make the pain in his eyes fade away. When he simply shook his head she held her ground. "Please talk to me. Better yet, yell at me. Tell me what a lousy partner I am! Okay? Do something, Deeks!"

He shook his head, wincing and pressing a hand to his temple. "What's the point? Although, I will say this. I'm not surprised Sam and Callen left. But I thought you were different."

His accusation hit her like a slap in the face. Kensi blinked hard, fighting the on rush of tears. She wasn't a crier, but she felt like weeping at the look on Deeks' face. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how to make this right, Deeks. I would give anything to go back in time and get a do over. "

"Forget about it." Deeks sighed and looked defeated. "I know you wouldn't have left if you'd known my earwig was down and we didn't hear each other. I know that. I just need time to process it. To accept that it was a stupid fluke. No harm done, right? We got the bad guy and nobody died. It was a good day."

"I still messed up." Kensi wasn't going to let him walk away like this. She knew he was hurt because she had walked away and left him. Because she hadn't had his back. Kensi realized now what he'd meant about being *used to it*. She had seen, first hand, how the LAPD sent Deeks undercover without having his back. He didn't have a team watching his six with them, but he had come to expect it here, with NCIS. Only they had failed him.

Deeks fumbled a smile. "It happens to the best of us." It was meant to be a joke, but neither one of them found it funny.

Kensi reached out, brushing a blond curl out of Deeks' eyes. "We can't go back, partner...but we can move forward, and I promise I will always have your back from now on."

"I know." His smile was a tad more genuine this time. "I just need some time. Just...give me some space today. Okay?"

"Okay." Kensi felt the knot in her stomach loosen a tiny bit. "We good?"

Deeks nodded. "Yeah. We're good." And with that he turned and walked away.

Kensi let him go. She would make him go to lunch with her and let him pick the radio station. There were a lot of little things she could do to show him he mattered to her. To show him she was there for him. That she would never leave him behind again.

And, in time, Deeks would believe it.

THE END


End file.
